Dove of Peace
by FranziskavonKarmaWhippedYou
Summary: A mysterious girl walks Clive Dove out of prison, and soon he is taken to an island. What is this island's secret? And why, oh why, are they trying to kill him? Rated T for language. Clive/Emmy.
1. Lrerin, the Angel

Clive Dove blew on a strand of hair that had fallen into his face. Boredom was eating up his mind, the months passing by, each like an eternity. At least he had been moved out of solitary and had begun receiving mail, albeit most of it was hate letters. Clive enjoyed reading the hate letters to his cellmate, a stick-thin blonde-haired teenager called Tyrone.

Clive would've preferred to sleep the day away and stay awake at night, but in prison he'd never have his way. To make up for this, he'd spend hours gazing out at the starlit sky until his eyelids drooped and he fell into a deep sleep. But right now, he felt awake, not tired, despite hours of staring at the starry sky. The marvel had begun to show no more appeal as the night lingered on.

"Clive? You awake?" the guard grunted. Clive turned his head from the window.

"I'm awake. What is it, Sebastian?" Clive asked. He was on a first-name basis with the guard, if only because Sebastian was an old friend of Clive's.

"You've got a visitor. I tried to tell them to do it tomorrow but they were so insistent," Sebastian explained. "Alright, come now, Lrerin." Sebastian struggled with the pronounciation of Lrerin's name, but the teenaged girl paid it no heed and walked over to Clive's cell. It looked as if she was gliding, and if Clive squinted just right, he could almost see wings decorating Lrerin's back.

"Who are you? I beg your forgiveness if you're someone whom I know and I've forgotten about," Clive said. Lrerin looked to be around 18 or 19, with waist length blonde hair that gave off the illusion it was shining, even though the prison's lights were best described as 'dim'. She was well-developed and of a good height and weight, clad in a white dress, a far cry from most teenager's attire.

"No, you will not know me. This is also the first time I have ever seen you, as well. I am an angel, sent from the heavens above to clear your sins," Lrerin explained, her bright blue eyes shining as she spoke. Clive swore she was glowing, but he couldn't be sure. Perhaps the strange aspects of her were just an illusion, caused by extreme boredom and an overwhelming number of insane ideas. Clive laughed aloud at Lrerin's statement.

"Well, I hope you'll understand if I think you're either a nutcase or have the wrong person," Clive said. "There's another Clive just down the hall, you know, except his name is actually Klyve." Lrerin scowled and folded her arms, but soon the playful smile returned.

"Oh, I understand. Most humans think the same. I can clear you of all your sin and secure you a spot in heaven if you repent all your sin!" Lrerin explained. Clive stared at her again. The wings he'd thought he seen earlier were back, except they looked slightly more solid, but still not there yet. Lrerin noticed Clive's stare and grinned, the wings flapping.

"I think I'm dreaming. Maybe I should pinch myself," Clive said dryly, seemingly paying no attention, but he was listening to every word. He pinched himself and found Lrerin still there, as well as her near-solid wings and bright beauty. "All right then. I repent. I apologise for all of my sins against mankind and any other things of which I may have done." Lrerin smiled.

"Thank you, Clive. A miracle will be waiting for you soon," Lrerin said. Her wings fully solidified and Clive's eyes widened. Surely they could not be the illusion he'd thought they were. Just as he was thinking this, Lrerin disappeared, leaving only a falling feather as sign of her presence.

"Sebastian!" Clive called. The guard appeared, true to form. "Pass me the feather, please." Sebastian frowned and leaned down, passing Clive the feather.

"There you go, though I'm not sure why you want a feather. You've never shown an interest in avians or the like before," Sebastian grumbled. "Get sleep. See you morning." Clive felt like telling Sebastian about Lrerin, but he restrained himself and fell asleep clutching the feather to his chest. As he fell asleep, the feather glowed brightly...

"Good morning!" Lrerin smiled. Clive was unsure why Lrerin had visited again, but he showed her the feather. Lrerin had smiled at the feather and changed the subject. "So, Clive, I've brought you a miracle! You're free. You can leave prison, but no more conniving!" Lrerin opened the door. "Come on, Clive, let's go."

"You're going with me?" Clive asked, confused. He left the cell and was allowed into the guards' bathroom to change into his normal clothes, then left the complex. None of the guards objected at all, and Clive didn't understand why this was happening.

"Of course I am. I'm taking you to your friends. They're in a bit of a predicament," Lrerin explained. "You'll see later. For now, I'd like to introduce you to a friend of mine. Emmy Altava." Clive pondered this.

"Emmy Altava... Wasn't she once the professor's assistant?" he asked. Lrerin nodded and led Clive into a dark alley. A woman was leaning against the all, sporting curled brown hair, a yellow coat and strong boots.

"You're Clive Dove, aren't you?" the woman asked. Clive nodded. The woman held out a hand. "Emmy Altava, the professor's assistant... once. The professor... He's in quite a predicament, did you know?" Clive looked for Lrerin, but it seemed she had left.

"I didn't know... Lrerin just got me out and hasn't informed me on the situation," Clive explained. Emmy stood up straight and walked past Clive.

"Well then. The professor, Luke and Flora Reinhold have been stranded on an island with a bunch of cannibals. The professor sent me a letter containing a puzzle, but... I just can't solve it," Emmy said, holding out a letter. Clive spun round and grabbed the letter, reading it.

'Dear Emmy,  
>Luke, Flora and I have been stranded on an island smewhere in the South Pacific. I believe it is near the western edge of Australia. A friend of mine, Lrerin Daraton, will see you at the alley on Midland Road. Lrerin holds a part of the key, and you the other.<br>Yours sincerely,  
>Professor Hershel Layton'<p>

"I think I understand," Clive said. "Emmy, desparate times require desparate measures."

"What kind of desparate measures?" Emmy asked, grinning. Clive grinned back, pleased that Emmy seemed thrilled by the prospect of danger.

"We're going to break back into prison." 


	2. The Island

Emmy crouched by the window, while Clive effortlessly switched off the entire alarm system. He gestured to Emmy and she stood up and walked in through the door, stating she was a visitor for Tyrone. Clive, when the guard wasn't looking, rushed at Emmy, tagging along behind her. They split, Clive heading for the bathroom and Emmy for the cell.

Tyrone was busy reading Clive's private mail, trying to find something juicy, and was surprised to have Sebastian introduce him to Emmy. There was no time for formalities and Emmy demanded Tyrone hand over Clive's feather. It took Tyrone several gut-wrenching seconds to give Emmy the feather, then an alarm blared.

"Impossible...!" Emmy breathed. "But he disabled the alarms!" She ran to the bathrooms, where Clive was standing surrounded by unconscious guards. Emmy grabbed Clive's arm and dragged him off, taking the two of them through a window. Emmy and Clive would spent a part of the next few hours picking glass shards out their skin, but they had half of the key. Clive's half - the feather.

"Do you have anything I can make this into some kind of necklace or something with?" Clive asked. "It's bothersome trying not to ruin it..." Emmy pulled out a piece of string and using her craft knowledge, she created a necklace out of Clive's feather.

"Now all we need is Lrerin's part of the key, if only we knew where she was," Emmy complained. "Maybe we should return to where I met her first." Clive nodded, having no objections whatsoever. The two took a bus there, and were noticed by the locals - after all, how couldn't they be? Clive was supposed to be in prison, so he certainly brought a lot of attention to himself without even meaning to.

"Isn't that Clive Dove? The murderer? The guy who tried to destroy London?" "Who's he with? Is that his girlfriend?" "She's too good for him... She's just got bad luck ending up with scum like him." "What if they're not even going out? I bet she's his sister!"

"Clive," Emmy said softly. "Are they bothering you?" Clive shook his head.

"I'm used to the disgrace. During my trial, people would spit on me when I was walking around. There went about 3 expensive suits. It hurt so much, being taunted like that... But spending a month in prison full of criminal bastards... That makes you used to awful things," Clive sighed. Emmy didn't even raise an eyebrow at the usage of Clive's vocabulary.

"I'm sorry this had to happen to you," she said softly, wrapping an arm around Clive, if only to comfort him. There was an explosion of chatter.

"See! She is his girlfriend!" "Didn't you here what they were saying? People were SPITTING on him! I would've gone insane, and he just lives with it!" "I'm surprised he has the money for those suits, after going through three..." "Give him a break... He's had a hard life. His parents died, his guardian died... Loneliness is all he's known."

"Emmy... Thank you. People don't hate me as much as they once did... or at least these people. The rest, who haven't even heard my appeal, are just going to think I'm some murderer. As usual," Clive smiled a weary smile. "But enough of me. Why don't you tell me who you are?" Emmy laughed.

"That, Clive, is a big secret! No, seriously, I kind of did something wrong..." Emmy blushed. "Something bad."

"I guess you can join the club," Clive said, unconsciously fingering the feather, yet his thoughts didn't wander to Lrerin. "That makes three of us." Emmy frowned.

"Three?" she asked. Clive smirked.

"Did you not notice? Come now, Chelmey, will you please stop tailing us for once?" Emmy stiffened and turned round. True enough, Inspector Chelmey was sitting behind them, disguised only by a pair of 'cool' sunglasses.

"How did you notice?" Chelmey asked. "Your deduction's good for an ex-convict."

"So I'm officially out?" Clive asked. This was news to him - he'd thought for a while he'd broken out, but he was Clive and nothing ever affected him drastically anymore.

"Of course. That Lrerin girl and your lawyer sorted everything out. You're free as long as you're under police supervision. That feather is rigged with a camera, and they sent me to check up on you," Chelmey explained. "So where are you going?"

"We're trying to find Lrerin. We believe she holds some sort of... key. But I'm not sure yet," Clive explained. "Now will you PLEASE stop tailing us?"

"Orright then," Chelmey grunted and shoved his face back into the paper. Clive turned back to Emmy.

"You were saying?" he asked. "Or where you even saying anything? I forget." Emmy shrugged and the pair spent the rest of the journey in silence, listening to other's chatter as they discussed Clive, then moved onto more boring matters, such as what they did on the weekend.

Their stop eventually arrived and the pair left the bus. Inspector Chelmey did not follow them - instead, he pulled out a mobile phone and sent a quick text to Inspector Clamp Grosky. They walked around, investigating every suspicious alley before they found Lrerin outside the abandoned corner shop, playing on her phone. She held up her free hand.

"There is no signal out here. Do you have the key?" she asked, shoving her phone into her pocket and lowering her hand, but she didn't raise her head. Clive walked over to Lrerin and pulled off his necklace.

"This is the key. And do you have yours?" Clive asked. Lrerin nodded and pulled a ring off her finger. Inside the jewel, a single flower petal was trapped. "So... what do these keys even do?"

"They are two of the six hundred keys to the heavens. Your friend... My friend... Layton. He knows I offer ferry services to anyone in possession of a key. You want to see Layton, do you not?" Lrerin explained. Clive nodded in response to her question. "Then follow me. We shall depart shortly - don't expect anything too big. We've got some nice food, but basic water, a few cartons of juice."

"I don't mind living off of the basics, oh, and just to let you know, I don't believe in your angel act, Lrerin. You should own up and tell us who you really are - but all in good time. Where's the ferry?" Clive asked. Lrerin led them to the wall of the wall then turned. There was a barely visible door which Lrerin opened. Behind the door was a port belonging to London's underworld, protected by muscular guards who claimed to hate everything good and loved lolcats.

"Oi you, Rerin or whatevah yo name is. Boris wants to talk to ya," a guard grunted. Lrerin smiled angelically.

"Tell him he can go and die in a deep, deep hole and be stuck in the fiery pits of Hell~" she said threateningly, with the angelic smile painted across her face. Clive shivered - girls were amazingly good at smiling while threatening to kill people.

"So, which one of these is yours?" Emmy asked. "Can I get my motorbike loaded onto it?" Lrerin turned.

"Already done, Emmy. Layton told me to be prepared. I'll be ready to go in an hour, so if you really want to grab something, you'd best go now," she explained. Clive turned around and began walking towards the door, but Emmy called him to stop. Emmy borrowed someone's motorbike and managed to get a bicycle for Clive, and they managed to travel around the town fast. Their first destination was a shop that sold things usually used for mountaineering, but there were some general purpose things as well.

Clive took hold of a long, strong rope and tested it. The rope would probably come in handy, but Clive then realized he had no money on him. He desperately fished through his pockets and only turned up with several spare pounds, not enough to buy him this rope and something else. Clive was sure he didn't want to ask Emmy to buy him something, as he didn't want to waste a lady's money, so he walked over to the till and placed the rope down.

"Clive? Do my eyes deceive me?" the clerk stared at him, rubbing his eyes several times. Clive took several seconds before recognising the clerk.

"No... Edward Johnston!" Clive grinned, finally recognising one of his school friends. "How long has it been? Ten years? More? Less?" Emmy turned around.

"Hmm? You know each other, Ed?" she asked. Emmy knew Edward well, as she frequented the shop, but had no idea of his relations to Clive.

"Yeah! Clive's my old buddy!" Edward grinned. "So whatcha gettin' rope for? Don't see ya as the type to be doing journeys! You were always reluctant at camp, then you were absolutely awesome at everything, though!" Edward grinned. Clive handed Edward the money.

"I haven't the type for reminiscing, my old friend. We're limited on time, unfortunately. I'll catch up with you sometime else, but for now I'll take this rope," Clive said. Edward nodded and shoved the money into his near-empty till, then Clive wrapped the rope around his waist, as he could think of nowhere else to put it. Emmy purchased several items but Clive didn't see exactly what she bought. Emmy headed off to another shop while Clive, who was broke, cycled back to the port and returned the bicycle. Emmy returned later, once Clive had settled into his room.

The boat departed at the expected time and Emmy found Clive asleep on the chair with his head on the desk, snoring loudly. Emmy reckoned it was rather uncomfortable, so she carefully placed a hand beneath Clive's knees and one on his back and lifted him up, surprisingly not waking him. Emmy slowly walked over to the bed and used her foot to move back the covers, then she placed Clive on the bed and tucked him in quite neatly, all without waking him up, presumably because Clive was deeply asleep from bout of insomnia.

"We'll get Layton out, I promise..." Emmy said, sitting down on the bed. Clive turned over, but still didn't wake up. "For your sake, I'll rescue Layton and Luke." Clive grunted in his sleep and Emmy feared he was awake, so she stood up and left the room, casting a glance back at him before she left.

Clive woke up to two trays of food next to his bed. He checked the clock - it was 5:00 in the morning. He must've slept through the entire day. He stood up and stretched, fixing his clothes so they wouldn't look so crumpled. When Clive got up on deck, Lrerin was already up, steering the ship across calm waters. There was land up ahead and Lrerin was fixated on it, so she didn't notice Clive as he walked past. Lrerin jumped when Clive spoke.

"So, is that the island?" he asked, tightening the rope around his waist. Lrerin nodded after jumping, trying to focus on the steering again. "Should I wake Emmy, then?"

"Not yet," Lrerin replied. "She was up a lot of last night. Believe it or not, she was worrying how you would react to seeing the professor, and having to save his life." Clive smiled sadly.

"And how am I to know you're not lying?" he asked, leaning over the edge and gazing out into the crystal clear waters. Lrerin sighed.

"Believe it if you wish, but don't corner Emmy about it," Lrerin replied. She squinted. "Hmm... it'll take us about ten minutes to get there. Wake Emmy in five." Clive nodded and patiently waited the five minutes, then strolled to Emmy's room door, knocking. He waited for the groggy 'come in' and opened the door. Emmy was lying on top of the bed rather than in it and her hair was matted. She rubbed her tired eyes.

"Uhhh? Is it morning already?" she yawned. Clive nodded. "Boo-hoo, I was enjoying my sleep. I'll be out in a minute." Clive nodded and closed the door, waking back up on deck. True to her word, about a minute later, Emmy, whose hair was now perfect again joined Clive.

"So, we're nearly there?" Emmy asked, looking out at the island. Clive nodded. "It looks beautiful. Who would have thought peoples' lives are in danger out there? ...ah, I remember how Edward said you were always reluctant to do stuff at camp then you aced it."

Clive nodded. "It was easier than it looked. Just, the prospect of throwing yourself down the side of a crag seems rather terrifying, if you ask me," he replied, and Lrerin called upon both him and Emmy to anchor the ship. The anchor was incredibly heavy and it took both their full strength combined to hurl it over the edge and stop the ship. From there on, Clive and Emmy jumped out the ship. Clive didn't jump far enough and dived into the water while Emmy hit the sand, stumbling a bit before turning back. Clive picked himself up and walked over, his clothes dripping with water.

"It's warm out here, I'll expect these to try off soon. For now, though..." Clive unbuttoned his suit jacket and threw it onto a nearby tree. It caught on the branches. "Alright, let's go. Do we know where the professor, Luke and Flora are?" Emmy nodded.

"Lrerin gave me a map yesterday, when you were sleeping," she explained, showing Clive the map. The two explored the thick and beautiful jungle until they encountered a large building.

"This must be X," Clive said, pointing at the map. Emmy walked up to the door and tried the handle. The door was locked, but she didn't dare break it down. "Do you have any hairclips?" Emmy frowned and fished in her pocket, pulling out a hairclip. Clive took it and picked the lock, pushing the door open with a terrifying, long-lasting creak.

Two men were waiting for them, with gigantic rifles pointed at their heads. 


	3. Escape and Recapture

"Clive," Emmy said in a hushed voice. "Come over here. Now." Clive, without looking, walked sideways. "Put your hands behind your back." Clive did so and Emmy pushed an object into his hand.

"What is it?" Clive whispered. It felt like a rope.

"It's a rope," Emmy whispered. "Test it for me." Clive yanked at both ends of the rope, but there was no tearing. He handed the rope back.

"It's safe. What's the plan?"

"The plan is - we use our ropes to yank the rifles out their hands, then we - or I - knock them unconscious." Clive nodded, approving of Emmy's plan, then untied his rope. He thrust it out, hitting a guard across the hand. A flash of pain blazed across the guard's arm and he dropped the rifle. Clive raced forwards, grabbing the rifle. He smashed the edge of the rifle into the guard's forehead, knocking him unconscious. Clive turned - Emmy had taken care of the other guard.

"How are we going to locate where the professor is being held?" Clive asked, frowning. Emmy pulled out another map and pointed to an X.

"We go there. It should be up a few rooms, I think I know what I'm doing," Emmy said, leading Clive to a door. Both of them sucked in a breath and Emmy lockpicked the door. She shakily extended her arm and her hand touched the knob. She gripped it, her knuckles going white. She slowly opened the door and rushed in, Clive following her. She shut the door and looked inside. Chained to one side of the wall was an unconscious Luke, on the second side of the wall was where Layton was chained and the third was where Flora was chained. Flora's chains were locked with puzzles, but nobody else's.

"Hmph... They really did go out of their way to lock Flora up. That's extreme, pinning a lady to a wall," Clive tutted. Layton, Luke and Flora were all unconscious, so Clive and Emmy woke them up.

"Uhh? Clive? How did you get here?" Luke asked groggily. "Uh? Emmy?" Emmy placed a finger to her lips.

"Clive. So you met Lrerin?" Layton asked. Clive nodded.

"She's very cryptic. But that's not the point - we need to get out of here!" Clive said. He helped Emmy solve Flora's puzzle locks and helped Flora up himself, trying to make up for his rudeness towards her. The door was flung open by a guard and Emmy was instantly alert, gun pointed at the incoming guard.

"Move. And. I. Shoot," she said firmly, almost shouting as she progressed to the next word. The guard rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in the air, then when Emmy lowered her guard just slightly he pounced. Clive instinctively raced forward, hitting the guard with an uppercut. The guard was barely affected but Clive got between the guard and Emmy. He shoved the guard hard and the man fell to the wall, where Emmy trained her rifle on him again. Clive had his rifle in hand as well, in case the guard made any sudden movements.

"Where on Earth did you get the rifles?" Layton asked, and it was hard to read his expression and tone. Emmy turned her gun around and slammed its edge into the guard's forehead, rendering him unconscious and also securing the chance of a pounding headache when he awoke.

"We took down a pair of guards to get in. We stole these from them. Clive, do you think you can keep an eye on this guard while I acquire some more weaponry," Emmy said, lowering her gun. Clive nodded, his gun pointed at the guard while Emmy left, shutting but not locking the door as she strode off.

"Clive, did Lrerin handle all of the paperwork required to get you out?" Layton asked.

"She sorted it, and I'm sure of it. I checked with Inspector Chelmey," Clive explained. There was gunfire from outside. Clive shoved his gun into Layton's hands and ran out into the hallway. Emmy was standing in the center, facing off against two guards. One was already dead and Emmy was bleeding from her arm, but she shot down the guard. She grabbed their guns and walked over to Clive.

"We need to get out of here," Emmy said firmly. "And I need to see a doctor." She pressed a rifle into Clive's hands and strolled into the cell as if her arm wasn't bleeding. Clive could hear the gasps before he was even in the room, and when he was in, there were tons of questions being thrown at Emmy.

"What happened?" "Are you alright?" "Shall I get you a bandage?" Emmy accepted Layton's offer of a bandage and Clive took it upon himself to bandage Emmy up. It was a pain that she had been hit in the right arm, as she was right-handed. Emmy tossed her jacket over her left shoulder while Clive rolled up her sleeve and examined the wound. The bullet had gone completely through an area. It wasn't exactly her shoulder, but the top of her arm, and the bullet had gone clean through, leaving a nasty-looking hole surrounded by blood. Clive wrapped the bandage around it, taking care and backtracking several times while Layton and Luke searched for the exit.

Emmy winced as Clive tightened the bandages. Clive had to make do with what he had and Flora managed to successfully scavenge several pieces of sellotape which Clive used to stick down the bandage after he had tightened it and ripped the excess strips off. Soon after Clive had finished wrapping Emmy up and helped her get her jacket back on, Luke returned with news of an escape route. However, there was a problem for both Emmy and Flora - they had to go through sewers, with waste-high green water filled with things you would never want to see and an awful stench.

"Are you kidding me? A bit of dirt doesn't matter!" Emmy insisted. Flora seemed a lot more hesitant but since everyone else was alright with the idea, she accepted too. Not to say she didn't complain as they reached the sewer. It was a long ladder and the ladder wasn't long enough - a jump was required to get into the water, and then Layton, who had checked up ahead, told them of a part where they had to swim through.

Flora was last down the ladder and the jump was long to her, as she was quite short. Clive offered Flora a hand and she reluctantly took it and jumped. Clive moved and caught her before she hit the water and slowly lowered her in so she didn't create a splash that soaked the rest of her. Clive's splash had been so great it had soaked him thoroughly and left his hair tinged slightly emerald.

"Everyone else has already gone up ahead. Let's hurry," Clive said, walking along himself, believing Flora could wade through the water herself. She could, but she was slow. Emmy walked back.

"What's taking you guys so long? We'd already reached the deep part when I decided to turn back," she said. Clive jabbed his thumb at Flora.

"Look, Flora. I'm ever so sorry you're going to have to ruin your clothes, but these are my best and Clive's are his only. I'll buy you more if I can't wash them properly later," she said. "I'll help you if you need it." Flora sped up, trying not to care for her clothes. One glance at Clive and his ruined attire, his only set of clothes (his house had been robbed while he was in prison and nothing was left behind) made Flora forget about her clothes. She had plenty left at home - Clive had none. Flora sped up, catching up with the aforementioned boy and Emmy. There came a time where Flora couldn't walk any more, much earlier than Emmy and Clive.

Flora took a deep breath and began to swim. Her strokes were weak and she struggled to keep up, but eventually her aching body got used to the stroke and she began improving slowly over several minutes. Up ahead, Layton and Luke were waiting, and both were having to swim.

"It's really deep up ahead," Luke explained. "And there are rats. Bad rats; nasty rats." Clive sighed.

"I'll go up ahead," he offered, and without waiting, he walked off and then swam out of vision.

"I hope he'll be alright," Layton mumbled.

"He'll be fine," Emmy replied. "He's ruined his only set of clothes, bandaged me up and he hasn't complained a bit." Emmy stared out at the green water. "He should get some kind of award." Not long after Emmy had said that, Clive returned with a rat sitting in his hair.

"I made a friend... I think. The rats aren't that bad. One nipped me, but it wasn't that bad," he explained. Clive took the lead, swimming at a reasonable pace until he found land. He scrambled up onto the land, calling out, informing the others of the land. Flora was last to try and get up, but she couldn't. Clive offered her a hand, and Flora, as usual, took it and Clive hauled her up.

"I can see light!" Emmy called. Clive lifted himself up from the ground and walked over. He could see light too, then something blocked the light and there was gunfire.

"Flora, get back!" Clive turned round and shoved Flora back into the sewage water. She squealed and got a mouthful of green, urine-filled, bacteria-infested water. Clive then shoved Emmy in, and she knew not to scream. Layton and Luke got in themselves and Clive tried to get his rifle, then he remembered he'd forgotten it. The attacker rushed forwards, hit him in the head and everything faded to black.

Clive stirred, finding himself both in the grass, shirtless and bleeding. There was a cut across his chest, but there didn't seem to be much more bleeding. Clive sat up and looked around. He was outside in the island, surrounded by thick vines and strong trees. There was no sign of his companions, but he could see blood on some vines and blood on the ground as well. Clive stood up and began walking.

"Wait!" Layton called. Clive turned around to see Layton approaching him. Layton held out Clive's crumpled and soaking shirt. "Emmy cleaned it for you. She's down by the river and can explain the current situation better than myself." Clive pulled the shirt on and buttoned it quickly, then followed Layton through vines and tree branches til they reached a river. Flora was nowhere to be seen but Emmy was washing her dress in the river's flowing water. Clive walked over next to her.

"Can I give you a hand with that?" he asked. Emmy shook her head.

"No, I've got it, but you can always do Luke's jumper," she replied. Clive picked up Luke's now green jumper and lay it in the river, keeping hold of it. "Basically, I took down the guy who attacked you then I carried you all the way out here. It's quite a way til the beach because I took a detour to clean everyone's clothes. To be honest, it feels a bit like Lost." Clive chuckled, appreciating the humour. He had watched Lost himself and hadn't particulary enjoyed it, but nonetheless he knew the plot.

"PUT YOUR HANDS UP!" someone called. Clive glanced over his shoulder. An armed guard from the island was pointing a gun at him.

"Wait a minute," Emmy said bravely. "I'm just cleaning this dress." The guard growled but didn't shoot until Emmy had finished the dress. "Now," Emmy explained. "I need to go give this to Flora." She walked off for several minutes before returning with Flora, who was clad in her soggy dress.

"I need to take all of ya back for questionin', then maybe the boss'll let me shoot you!" the guard grinned a toothy smile and led the party to the building, but Luke wasn't present. He was hiding behind a tree watching the events unfold.

The building, from the back, was amazing. It was a haven of technology restricted to the island, filled with glass elevators which the group got to ride on. Inside their part of the building there was so much security, including armoured guards wearing bulletproof vests. They didn't look as easy to take down as the previous bunch - they seemed like just a warm-up now. The group was essentially separated, but some people were put in pairs and some had higher security than others. For example, Layton's cell was surrounded by guards whose guns were trained on Layton and still were inside the cell. Clive was put with Flora and they had moderate security, while Emmy was put with Luke and they had mediocre security.

"If only we had time to admire this place..." he sighed. Clive and Flora sat in silence for what felt like an eternity but was in reality ten minutes. A pretty female nurse with pink, tied-back hair walked in, holding a clipboard and a pen. She kneeled down.

"I'm here to ask you some questions. Eventually, I'll ask you what kind of food you'd like because we're not uncaring enough to feed you interesting people with gruel," she said softly. "Okay. What are your names? And don't lie. I'm trained, as a living lie detector."

"Clive Dove," Clive said, choosing not to lie. What was the point? If she was a lie detector or not, he could see no reason to lie. Whatever happened would happen.

"Flora... Flora Reinhold," Flora mumbled and was then forced to spell her last name.

"Thank you. And your blood types?" the nurse asked, staring Clive straight in the eye for a split second before her eyes flashed down to his wrists.

"AB," Clive replied, a vein pulsing with his lie. He wanted to see if she could detect a well-pulled lie.

"You're lying," she said instantly. "Tell the truth. Now. We need to know your blood type in the occasion that you ever fall ill."

"Alright. Just wanted to test you. O," he said. There was no telltale vein pulse so the nurse logged the data then took Flora's blood type, A. She asked more questions then stood up after asking them about their diet and favourite food.

"Um, excuse me. What's your name?" Flora asked. The nurse smiled.

"Lakeehatria Clare. I was born and raised on this island," she said and shot down, injecting a syringe right into Clive's arm. He barely flinched, then Lakeehatria left.

"Flora," Clive said, baring his teeth, trying not to fall asleep. "Lrerin... She's one of... these pe..." Clive's eyes closed and he sunk into sleep. Flora squealed and tried to wake him, but she couldn't.

Clive woke up in another unusual place - tied down on a table. His head was free so he looked around. Flora was opposite him, writhing and struggling.

"Flora!" he called. "What's going on?"

"I don't know!" Flora squealed. At that moment, the door was thrown open and a shadowed figure stepped in. 


	4. Life at Emmy's

"Emmy!" Clive recognised the shadowy figure, who stepped out of the shadows. Emmy grinned and ran over, undoing the restraints.

"How did you get here?" Clive asked, undoing Flora's restraints and looking around. He was in what appeared to be a hospital room. It was filled with nasty, sharp needles.

"It doesn't matter - but we need to get out!" Emmy insisted. Clive nodded and grabbed Flora's hand, nearly dragging her behind him but Flora caught up. Layton and Luke were apparently already outside and they were the last. Alarms began ringing in the group's ears, gunfire narrowly avoiding them. Clive was hit by several bullets but nothing could stop him, even with the aching pain of the bullets that had gone clean through his left arm.

"Um... Clive? Are you okay?" Flora asked, catching sight of the holes in Clive's arm. He nodded while running. There was no time for dawdling and as soon as Clive had gotten to the ground floor he let go of Flora and hurled himself through a window. Emmy followed with Flora, who was careful not to get pierced by shards. Guards were still shooting at them, but they were not professional snipers. They couldn't shoot moving targets unless they got particularly lucky, and these fellows weren't. Luke was waiting by a tree and took them down to a boat - not Lrerin's boat, a different one.

"Get in, quickly!" Layton shouted, running over. Emmy and Luke jumped straight in while Clive and Layton helped Flora getting into the boat. There were three paddles - one double-sided and two singles. Clive took a single paddle because Emmy had already taken the double-sided. Layton took the other paddle and they paddled away from the island as quickly as they could, using Luke's compass as a guide. The journey took several hours but eventually they arrived at the port.

"So... is this over?" Clive asked, brushing a dozen stray hairs from his face.

"It isn't. We need to do a lot more before we can officially call this case closed," Layton said. "In the meantime, Clive, I'm offering you a chance to stay at my house for a while - at least until we sort everything out. What about yourself, Emmy?"

"Clive can move in with me - I've got a completely empty room and a blow-up mattress," Emmy explained.

"I think I'll take Emmy's offer. No offense, Professor," Clive said. The professor nodded.

"And none taken. It's growing late, so we should all head home and get some well-earned rest and some time to investigate the island. From my studies, I found the island's name is Ebinor, the locals' word for lost. Or so according to Lakeehatria," Layton explained. "I'll leave you to study, since I barely know much more. We'll meet here tomorrow, after lunch... around one o' clock in the afternoon?" There were general nods, so Layton bade Clive and Emmy farewell and left with Luke.

"So where are we going?" Clive asked.

"I've got connections in Scotland Yard, so I guess we'll go there... Ah!" Emmy froze. "I left my motorbike on the island!"

"Relax, you told me that was a spare," Clive reassured her.

"Oh... oh yeah," Emmy blushed in embarrassment. "Thanks for reminding me. Go to Scotland Yard and ask for Inspector Clamp Grosky. Tell him I said to show you all the records about Ebinor." Clive nodded and watched as Emmy rushed off, then he walked to the nearest bus stop and took the bus to Scotland Yard. He ran into Inspector Grosky on his way in. Grosky was attacking a criminal but experiencing some difficulty. Clive kicked the criminal as he had seen Emmy do before and the criminal, not as hard as he believed himself to be, toppled backwards.

"And that's what you- Uh? Clive?" Grosky stared at Clive. "Where's Emmy?"

"Errand," Clive replied. "But she asked me to do her a favour and ask you if I could see the files about an island called Ebinor."

"Ebinor? Never heard of it! You're probably better off asking the Gressenheller Geography Department. But I'll get someone to check and we'll phone Emmy as soon as we get something," Grosky explained. "For now, I have to put this criminal behind bars!"

"Good luck with that, Inspector," Clive chuckled and walked off, catching the bus to Gressenheller University. The university wasn't as full as usual, but Clive knew some people must still be there. He entered the university and immediately came across a man with brown hair.

"Excuse me," Clive asked politely. "Could I speak with someone from the Geography Department?"

"Well... If you help me solve this puzzle. You see, my granddaughter gave me it, and I simply can't figure it out, and Hershel isn't here to help me," the man made a sad face. "I'm the dean. Dean Delmona."

"Clive Dove, friend of Professor Layton's," Clive introduced himself.

"Here's the puzzle. 'A mother and daughter both type very quickly. The daughter types, with one key every 0.1 seconds. The mother types with one key every 0.2 seconds. However! It takes them 1 second to press 'cvbnm', and that's not the combination of letters. How long does it take the mother to write 'cookies are my best friend'?" Dean Delmona puzzled. Clive thought, calculations whizzing through his brain. He'd already discovered the 'cvbnm' trick.

"The answer is 8.4, Dean. You see, the space bar on a keyboard is located directly beneath the letters 'cvbnm', so from there I know typing a space takes 1 second. From there, I count all the letters. 0.2, then 0.4, then 0.6, so and so forth. I added the spaces and the letters together to get my total. It's complicated mathematics, but it's easy with a calculator," Clive explained. The dean looked puzzled for a bit until it finally clicked in his head.

"I'm never good at puzzles like that," Dean Delmona sighed. "Thanks for the help, Clive. The geography department is down that corridor. I believe the geography professor is in his room, Room 59." Clive said his thanks and strolled down the corridor, knocking on the door to Room 59. There was a muffled 'come in, kid' and Clive opened the door. Inside the room was a simple office, with hundreds of books on the shelves but all of them in alphabetical order. It was a far cry from Layton's office, and a bespectacled woman with softly curled ginger hair wearing a bright green jacket and navy blue trousers with black high-heeled boots. It seemed as if the outfit had been chosen so she stood out.

"What is it you want, kid?" the professor asked, placing a beautiful quill in a bottle.

"Have you ever heard of Ebinor Island?" Clive asked. The professor tensed.

"Ebinor Island? Why are you asking about Ebinor Island?" the professor looked up, her eyes like fire. She calmed herself down and then looked at Clive with those still frantic but slightly calmer eyes. "Sorry, kid, that was rude of me. I'm Professor Lore Birchwood. I specialize in geography. You should take it up, kid."

"I'm Clive Dove. But still... What do you know about Ebinor Island?" Clive asked. Lore growled.

"Have you been to Ebinor?" she asked, her voice firm. Clive knew this was a question he had to answer, and he had to answer it truthfully.

"Yes. I just escaped from Ebinor," Clive explained. Lore grabbed his arm.

"We have to go back. The Ebinorians will come here and kill you if you don't go back and apologise for running off on them, and I'm a sister of an Ebinorian, but I hated living there. Okay... All of that is a lie. I have my own reasons for returning to the island, but I want you to go with me... Please," Lore begged.

"You didn't need to lie. I'm afraid I can't accept your offer until I have discussed this with Layton. Archaeology. Him, myself, his assistant Luke Triton, his adopted daughter Flora Reinhold and his other assistant Emmy Altava went to Ebinor. We're meeting up at a port tomorrow at one o' clock. I'll take you there, but for now I know you're an ally of ours. Thank you, Professor..." Clive nodded his regards and left Lore thinking.

Clive found Emmy back at Scotland Yard, having a discussion with a well-mannered young girl bearing pink hair. She appeared to be a secretary, judging by the giant badge on her collar saying 'I AM THE SECRETARY'. Emmy, catching sight of Clive, said her goodbyes and walked over to Clive.

"We're taking Professor of Geography Lore Birchwood with us. She knows something about Ebinor," Clive explained. "For now, it'd probably be best to scour the internet tonight and check the library tomorrow."

"Sounds good to me," Emmy replied. "I guess I'll take you back home." It wasn't the longest of walks back to Emmy's house, so it was spent in silence, both Clive and Emmy lost in their own thoughts.

Emmy's house wasn't very big but it was spacious enough for Clive, who had grown used to sitting in a tiny prison cell with Tyrone. Clive's room was indeed empty, bar a few ancient sweet wrappers and a piece of gum on the wall. Emmy blew up the mattress herself and Clive wasn't the biggest fan of blown-up mattresses but it was far better than the hard prison beds. Emmy had a spare laptop which Clive spent several hours on researching Ebinor, but there was nothing interesting in the first 100 Google pages. Clive checked the time, to find the clock was displaying 0:07. He yawned and turned the laptop off, leaving the room. Emmy was asleep at her desk, so Clive tried his best not to make any noise as he placed the laptop on charge.

Clive walked to the bathroom and did whatever he needed to do, then returned to the bedroom, picking up a blanket on the way to keep him warm. It wasn't the biggest of blankets and Clive had to make several adjustements before he got the blanket to keep him warm. He rolled over several times and had to adjust the blanket before attempting to get to sleep. It was difficult, with all the thoughts rocketing around his mind, but eventually he dropped off to sleep, one filled with dreams morphing from nightmares to the most cheerful of dreams.

"Clive! Clive! CLIIIIIVE!" It took Emmy several yells and then the shaking of Clive to wake him up and when he did he was groggy.

"Go away!" he grumbled, letting out a lengthy yawn. "Oh... uggh. Morning Emmy." Emmy placed her hands on her hips and sighed before scolding Clive.

"It's nine o' clock! You should've been up an hour ago, but I was up TWO HOURS ago!" Emmy yelled. "Now get up!"

"Sorry. I'm tired," Clive said, standing up and stretching.

"How can you be tired after all that sleep you got on the island?" Emmy asked. Clive shrugged.

"I don't know. What's for breakfast?" he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Emmy thought for a while.

"Mmm... I'll tell you once I've checked the fridge," she replied and left the room. Clive brushed down his crumpled clothes and walked through to the living room, sitting down on the yellow sofa. He found the remote, buried beneath the sofa's cushions, and turned the television on. Nothing interesting on the news. Someone jumped off a cliff and died again - it seemed it was becoming a trend in suicides. Clive could still remember watching a documentary on suicide spots. He would never admit it, but just the video footage of Aokigahara had sent chills up his spine. It had been absolutely silent, nothing but the cameraman's footsteps, and the skulls...

"Clive! I've got... uh... Bacon, sausages or toast. I've not got much, so I'm afraid you can only pick one," Emmy apologised. Clive snapped out of his thoughts.

"Ah... bacon for me. As much as you're comfortable with. I don't mind - the prison food always tasted like sick. They thought I was anorexic because I scarcely ate," he groaned. "Tried to stuff food down my throat. Mind you, I got to throw up on the lousy one when they tried that. He resigned." Emmy laughed.

"So you gave him what for! I'd better go prepare that bacon for you, then. And I only have water," she said, returning to the kitchen. Clive glanced back to the news.

"BREAKING NEWS now! Elk Birchwood was murdered last night. The police are currently investigating. Elk Birchwood is the sister of a Professor Lore Birchwood, who works at Gressenheller University, London. The professor has refused to make a statement about the murder, instead telling all her interviewers 'I'm still going Ebinorward bound...'. What that means we're not quite sure... Now for the weather..." Clive sat up at the mention of Lore's name.

"This cannot be a coincidence..." Clive mumbled. "Argh... How confusing." He stood up and walked through to Emmy's room, gently easing the door open so she wouldn't notice. Clive shut the door silently and scoured Emmy's room. It was hurting his eyes; the brightness of it all. The walls were yellow, the bed was yellow, the desk was yellow, the wardrobe was yellow. Clive sighed and shielded his eyes, then rummaged through Emmy's drawers, silently thinking to himself how ungentlemanly this was. He rummaged through the drawers... Notebooks, and lots of them. He searched through them, for the unused ones and found an abundance of unused notebooks at the back. He grabbed one and found an old pen. It wouldn't work, but a bit of shaking did the trick.

"Clive? Where are you?" Emmy called. Clive swore and shoved the drawer shut, looking for cover. He dived underneath the bed, glancing around at the boxes. He looked in one, but it was too dark beneath the bed to see, yellow as it was. The door opened and Clive held his breath, heart pounding. Surely Emmy could hear the beating of his heart? As quietly as he could, Clive shuffled to the wall and curled himself up in case Emmy looked beneath the bed. "Is that you, Shirana? Woof woof?" There was a yowl from next to him and Clive nearly yelped as he noticed a husky lying next to him. It must be 'Shirana'. Shirana crawled out from beneath the bed and Emmy soon left the room, leaving the door open. Clive waited until he heard her enter the bathroom then dashed out, hiding the notebook and pen beneath a cushion.

"There you are!" Emmy shouted as she stormed through to the living room. "Where have you been? I was worried sick!"

"Hmm. That's a secret, Emmy. I met your friend Shirana... husky?" Clive questioned. Emmy placed two fingers in her mouth and whistled a piercing whistle, Shirana running through and barking.

"Yeah, this is Shirana. I'm taking care of her because her owner, my grandmother, died a few months ago. I think I'll keep Shirana. She seems to have taken quite a shine to me," Emmy smiled.

"I can see that," Clive replied, Shirana jumping onto his lap and licking his face. Remarkably, Clive found himself not throwing Shirana off and accepting the rough tongue on his face. "Okay, okay, I get the point, Shirana. Down." Shirana looked up at Clive with puppy eyes and he sighed, stroking the husky who was now rather pleased she'd gained the heart of the newcomer.

"Your bacon's cooking. Might want to get Shirana off your knees, otherwise she'll be eating the bacon, not you," Emmy teased. Clive rolled his eyes and decided to keep Shirana happy, then he could shove her off with no feelings of guilt. Well, that was the plan, but even good plans could be broken. A few minutes later, the bacon was ready and Clive shoved Shirana off. She whined but Clive wouldn't fall for it and he pushed her away whenever Shirana tried to jump up and eat the bacon. Clive finished quickly and Shirana pounced back up onto him, searching for the source of the delicious smells.

"Alright, alright, Shirana. I need to go. I'm busy," Clive said, standing up after he'd shoved Shirana off more violently than he'd meant to. Since it was apparently cold outside, Emmy lent Clive 50 to get a new coat. She didn't request that Clive paid back and when she wasn't looking, he grabbed his stolen notebook and pen and left. He began noting he needed to pay Emmy back, then got onto normal matters, occasionally stopping to write a little more neatly. Writing on the move wasn't easy, but eventually Clive found himself at a shop selling clothes for more active people, and though Clive wasn't exactly active, the coats shops like Trespass sold were brilliant and long-lasting. Clive picked himself a non-blindingly blue, waterproof and windproof coat. It was bigger than Clive's normal size, a large instead of a medium. The coat draped down past his waist and several centimetres above his knees.

Clive still had plenty money spare, and decided he wanted some coffee and maybe a bit more of a meal to fill him up for the day's events. It wasn't Emmy's fault she was unprepared - she probably wouldn't have guessed Clive wouldn't have been staying, but still, Clive needed more food if he was to return to Ebinor. He selected a small, near-empty caf that looked to be one of the best. He ordered coffee and a biscuit, eating rather quickly. He returned to Emmy's house, having been out for about an hour. He hung his coat up on a spare peg and Emmy took a good look at it, poking and prodding.

"Hmm... Good choice. How much?" Emmy asked, seeing no sign of a price tag. Clive had ripped off the price tag and thrown it in a bin earlier.

"Twenty," Clive lied. He'd spent 15 on the coat and spent 5 on the coffee and biscuit.

"So when are we going to get Professor Birchwood?" Emmy asked, glancing at her watch. 10:08...

"We'll take her out for lunch," Clive replied. "Decided that on the way. As long as you don't mind."

"I don't mind! Really! We could use the leftover money from your shopping spree!" Emmy suggested. Clive nodded.

"And what do I do for now?" he asked. "We've got two hours left over."

"Uhh... Read a book? I have lots. I like murder mystery novels, or general mystery novels!" Emmy grinned. Clive nodded for the umpteenth time.

"Right. I like them too," Clive lied and explored the various bookshelves of Emmy's room. Clive sighed. He didn't like murder mysteries much, but there were a few mystery novels he enjoyed, but he seldom enjoyed fiction. Clive spent his time sitting with great big books filled with mind-numbingly boring facts that Clive memorized, his brain sucking it all up like a sponge. He felt there was no time for fiction in this world of fact. But that wasn't true. Emmy silently watched in the doorway as Clive pulled out a factual book, after completely ignoring the mystery novels.

Emmy made a mental note to tell Clive why fiction was useful. 


	5. Island Blues

A/N: Wow, the fifth chapter already? I feel as if I'm always stalling. D:! Me no like that feel. It always feels like this is some kind of Clive/Emmy fic. I've always been one for the weirdest pairings. I like being odd and not sticking with the flow, y'know?

There's a slight chance of there being a bit of actual kissing or something like that, but I'm not good at writing stuff like that. Things always seem tense between lovers in my stories, GAH. It seems Clive's personality has changed... Probably because he's spent a month in prison with Tyrone, a lesser-educated streetwise dude who was probably arrested for doing drugs. Don't worry, it'll be over soon... :D

DID YOU KNOW?: I use Notepad even though I have resources like Word. I don't even particularly like Notepad. Too small. No word count.

Professor Lore Birchwood ignored the flow of tears that constantly threatened to break through her hardened shell. She acted as if she was eccentric but she wasn't. Lore had been hardened by living rough as a youngster, keeping alive by stealing money out of people's pockets. There was a knock at her office door and she knew who it was: Clive from the day before, with his impressive hair and odd choice of clothing. Sure, it was summer, but it was cold in England.

"Come in, kid," Lore called more softly than she expected to. Clive opened the door, sporting a new coat and a girl. Lore briefly wondered if they were going out, but she shrugged off the idea. She couldn't afford to make presumptions, because she would act on them and there was no point acting on a false presumption.

"This is Emmy, my friend," Clive explained, introducing Emmy before she could introduce herself. Emmy didn't like this, but she hadn't a mind to tell Clive off in front of someone new.

"Professor Lore Birchwood. Geography department. Are you investigating Ebinor, too?" Lore asked. Emmy nodded.

"Professor Birchwood, we have a proposition," Clive said. "Would you like to discuss these matters over lunch? My treat." Emmy resisted the urge to laugh, as it was more 'her treat' than Clive's, but she would let him away with it - the money was kind of his now. It wasn't even much.

"Oh, I would love to have some lunch. Thanks, kid," Lore smiled, but it was an empty smile. Clive wished he could tell her 'my name is not kid, it is Clive' but he resisted the urge. She was a potential ally, and Clive wasn't about to ruin his only source of information. "I know a good caf . It's always quiet, but the food's real good." As Clive walked with Lore and Emmy through the streets of London, he reflected on what had happened in Ebinor, then remembered he had several holes in his arm.

"Emmy," he whispered, shuffling closer to her. "Do you remember we were shot?"

"Oh yeah!" Emmy replied, her eyes lighting up. "...wait, why doesn't it hurt?" Clive shrugged.

"Something... Something science-like. Actually, just thinking of it makes my arm hurt," he replied. Emmy frowned.

"Right... I think I heard something about that too," she replied.

"Guys, this is the caf !" Lore called. Clive and Emmy walked over. It was completely devoid of customers which made it the perfect spot to discuss Ebinor. Lore ordered a rather filling lunch - the triple cheeseburger, fries and a soda. It seemed like this charming little caf , to her, was a fast-food place. Clive ordered a coffee and a super-triple-chocolate cookie, as it was nearly making him drool just looking at the cookie selection. Emmy took tea and a cake, hardly befitting of a woman her size. They settled at a table next to the window.

"So," Clive began, sipping his coffee. "How do you know about Ebinor?"

"I did some research on it. In 1942, it was a popular place for people to flee during the war, and they stayed there. After the war, it became a holiday destination with a twist. Everyone who visited Ebinor was converted into one of 'them', and by 'them' I mean the Ebinorians. When the numbers of Ebinorians began to dwindle, some would come and kidnap people," Lore explained. Emmy's eyes widened.

"So that was why they took the professor!" she exclaimed through a mouthful of cake, spraying Clive with crumbs. He brushed them off, casting an annoyed glance over at Emmy who was resisting the urge to laugh at him.

"You mean Hershel from archaeology? Yeah, they took him to repopulate the Ebinorians. Ebinor is a place of medical research, where everyone is trained as a doctor. The numbers can dwindle easily if their medicines go wrong, so they bring in outsiders who are expected to have babies for the rest of their life, then when they stop they're used as test subjects," Lore explained. "I was someone kidnapped to produce babies. I'm smarter than that. I managed to escape Ebinor along with some others... I never knew their names, and I don't know what's become of them now."

"I see..." Clive said, sipping his coffee. "It seems rather confusing. And why would we want to return to this island?"

"Because there are others. People like you, kid, who are there only for producing tons of babies then they turn into test subjects fated only for a nasty death," Lore explained. Clive tensed.

"Of course... Is there anything more you're going to tell us of Ebinor?" Clive asked. Lore shook her head and Clive sighed. Squeezing information out of people certainly was difficult for him because Clive looked completely unreliable lately.

Professor Hershel Layton, Luke Triton and Flora Reinhold had been told to wait in the port, and so they did. Only several minutes after they arrived did their friends arrive - Clive, deep in discussion with Emmy and Lore, completely ignored, but she didn't mind.

"It's been a while, Hershy, hasn't it?" Lore grinned and shook hands with the professor. Of course they knew each other; they were both professors in the same university.

"Yes, it has been a long time, Lore. I see you've made friends with Clive and Emmy," Layton replied.

"I've made friends with kid, but I'm not entirely sure about Emmy yet. Now, Hershy, let me explain Ebinor. We're going back, okay Hershy?" Lore said. They boarded a small boat with paddles and rode it to Ebinor, but were careful when they landed, as directed by Lore. She made sure they landed in the east.

The island was far more thick with plants in the east and it took a lot of strength to barge through the thickets and Flora didn't like it one bit, but reminded herself of Clive, who had swam in sewer water in his only set of clothes and was still wearing a bloodstained shirt, if only because Emmy had no clothes that would fit Clive.

"We need to steal some rifles from the locals. Anyone fancy trying that?" Lore asked. Emmy and Clive agreed to join Lore in the obtaining of some weaponry. They powered themselves up a slope.

"We've done it before. Was that how you came to be shot, Emmy?" Clive asked. Emmy nodded, feeling a slight ache from the hole in her arm that still hadn't bled out.

"They're never reluctant to shoot someone. If you've been shot, you should've told me and we would've stopped to get you guys patched up," Lore said sympathetically. "You two are gonna have scars there for ages!" Clive sighed.

"Does it matter? I'm already scarred in several places," he replied. "I can see the building." He peered up at the giant skyscraper before him with its fancy glass lifts and the gargantuan gates at that side.

"It's there alright. You all ready?" Lore asked. "The minute we're spotted, a pair of guards will jump up onto the gates. We have to climb up the walls and get the rifles." Clive thought this was a ridiculous idea that would probably end up with all of them dead, but he decided to try it anyway. As predicted, guards climbed up a ladder on the other side of the gates and trained their rifles on Lore, who expertly dodged the shots while Clive and Emmy clambered up the walls, breaking several nails and scratching several fingers in the process.

Emmy jumped up and punched a guard incredibly quickly, snatching his rifle off him and shooting him. Clive was more lengthy in stealing the rifle, taking several punches and kicks before he pulled the rifle out of the guard's hands and shot him without hesitation, then kicked the body off the gate. Clive jumped down off the gate, pain shooting up his legs as he connected with the ground. Emmy sat down then jumped, avoiding most of the pain.

"What about you, Professor Birchwood?" Emmy asked. "Aren't you going to get one?" Lore shook her head and produced a knife from her pocket, running a finger across its blade.

"This is what I'll use," Lore replied. "Anyway, let's get back to the camp." They returned to what they called 'camp', where Layton's part of the group had created a small fire, but they were labouring to keep it aflame. Clive and Emmy shared a roll of their eyes, both knowing exactly the problem.

"Alright. Extinguish the fire - I'll go get the right amount of firewood," Clive said, briskly walking off to the right. Emmy decided to follow him because two heads were better than one, especially in firewood collection. Clive hadn't figured out that Emmy was following him, mainly because he was buried in his own thoughts, mostly centering around the fact the people of Ebinor were armed and not afraid to shoot him, and he had the scars to prove it. Emmy only realized something was wrong when Clive paused an shakily climbed a tree, breaking off branches as he climbed. He was still deep in thought, ignoring Emmy even though she was beneath him.

"Clive?" Emmy called up. Clive jumped and the branch he was sitting on gave a sickening crack, then gave way. 


	6. Freedom Taken

Without thinking, Emmy rushed forwards and caught Clive. He sat there, looking moderately puzzled for several moments before he realized what was happening. Still, his brief concept that someone was holding him awkwardly was changed as the hold moved from an uncomfortable grip on Clive's waist to one arm beneath his knees and the other supporting his back. He looked over at his saviour, only to find it was Emmy who had knocked him out the tree in the first place, but Clive's resentment dissolved instantly.

"Be more careful," Emmy lectured as she put Clive down.

"Stop knocking people out of trees," Clive shot back. "But what are you doing following me?"

"Ooh, I don't know, because you're walking off to places unknown to gather firewood?" Emmy asked. "And then you sit in a tree?" Clive picked up the branch that had snapped off the tree with him.

"This'll make a good piece of firewood," Clive said, running his finger across the branch's length.

"You're changing the subject!" Emmy objected.

"Do you even care?" Clive yelled. "I'm only out here to collect firewood. You have absolutely no reason to be here!"

"Clive, it's not like that. I came to help you. Don't get mad or anything," Emmy said. Clive nodded and calmed himself down, because there was nothing to be gained with anger.

"Alright then... Sorry. Let's get back to the job at hand," Clive mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. He took great care in collecting dry firewood, as wet firewood would be of no use to him. When he and Emmy finished, they were both struggling with the masses of firewood they'd collected and staggered back to camp, dropping it instantly and relieving their tensed and aching muscles.

"That should last a bit more than just a day's fire," Layton laughed. "Very well done, Clive, Emmy." He produced a box of matches and waited as Clive, Emmy and Luke assembled the firewood together. When the fire was lit, everyone sat by it.

"Where's Professor Birchwood?" Emmy asked, toasting her stinging hands on the fire.

"Lore went to get some marshmallows," Layton said. "I told her I would accompany her, but she vehemently objected. And a gentleman can't ignore a lady's wishes." A few minutes later, Lore stumbled through the woods triumphantly holding a bag of marshmallows. The entire camp burst out in a round of applause as Lore sat down and opened the bag of marshmallows, silently counting the marshmallows. Thirty marshmallows for six. Five marshmallows to a person. Lore tossed out marshmallows and everyone gratefully caught their share and found sticks.

"It's getting dark," Flora noted, shivering from fear of the darkness.

"All the better for a bonfire," Clive replied, setting his marshmallow on fire. He blew it out and popped it into his mouth. Hell, it wasn't that bad. Lore preferred sticking her marshmallow by the fire until it became quite gloopy, then eating it. Setting it on fire was a favourite of most people, however. "I haven't had a bonfire for years."

"Really? What about Guy Fawkes night?" Emmy questioned.

"I sit in my house," Clive replied. "And eat lots of sweets while watching the fireworks. I have a good view, actually."

"That's boring! You're coming with me to a bonfire this year!" Emmy insisted.

"Whatever you say, boss," Clive teased. Emmy gave him a fake punch in the ribs and Clive chuckled.

"Stop messing around," Lore said as she walked over. "Now get rid of that bonfire. We're going to attack right now."

"Excuse me?" Clive asked. "Now?" Lore nodded and Clive rolled his eyes. Flora wanted to go and after a few minutes of arguing got her way. The whole party was equipped with a gun per person, be it a rifle or a handgun (even Flora) and they ventured up the side of the island. Lore lead the way up to the side of the giant building and the party crept along, keeping below any windows. Lore found a window that was tilted open and she pulled it down, pulling the entire window out. She hoisted herself up and squeezed herself through the window, landing in the other room with a thud. Emmy followed, and soon after Clive.

Finally, the entire party had sneaked through and Clive sat himself against the door, making sure nobody could get through. They quickly reordered their supplies and heard the plan: they split into two groups then they were going to find themselves a room to call base - then, in their own style, they would rescue some hostages and at dawn they would return to base. Clive, Layton and Flora split into one group while Lore, Emmy and Luke split into another. Clive headed west and found himself a storage room that was covered in cobwebs and dust. It was comfortable enough to stay in once he had convinced Flora, who started making a bed out of supplies while Clive and Layton headed out.

"So where to?" Layton whispered. Clive gestured with his rifle to a room that had a plate saying 'Hostages' on it. "It could be a trap."

"Then I'll do it myself," Clive whispered and he picked the lock then opened the door. He slowly creeped in, turning the lights on. The room was filled with cages, and inside these cages were either animals or babies. Clive located the few babies and ushered Layton inside. Layton pocketed his handgun and carried a baby back to base, where Flora kept it asleep on her bed made of pillows. Layton delivered the other two and Flora managed to keep them quiet, giving Clive enough time to scour the corridor for any other hostage rooms, but he returned empty handed. He looked over at the sleeping babies and wondered when the first was going to wake up, but he made it to dawn without any waking.

At dawn, Flora scooped up a baby and Clive attempted this, managing to somehow succeed. Layton was the last to pick up a baby and then the party shuffled out the building. Once they were about five metres away, they quickened their pace until they returned to camp, greeted by Lore, Emmy, Luke and four hostages. Two of them, the women, seemed to recognise the babies and snatched them out of Flora and Layton's hands, but Clive was left with a now crying baby and no mother. He looked over at Flora and held out his hands. Flora smiled, took the baby and took care of it for the next few hours. Once those hours had passed, Lore heard footsteps and checked the landscape. She rushed back down.

"They're searching for us! Get the hostages and the baby far, far away!" she said hurriedly. The party scrambled, getting the hostages and Flora away, and just as the hostages were by the beach and the rest of the party had settled, the Ebinorians approached, managed to disarm them all and pulled them all away. Clive kicked ("like a bull," the Ebinorian grumbled) and tried to get hold of the Ebinorian's wrists, but he couldn't. Layton, because he was a gentleman, didn't make an effort to attack. Emmy was feral and wild, kicking, screaming, biting and everything else she could think of. Three Ebinorians teamed up and managed to get Emmy. Luke was nowhere to be seen. Lore remarkably succumbed to the Ebinorian who came to her, and then it was time.

* * *

><p>It had been three days since the quartet had been shut in the giant building, and two of them had already been shoved in the medical wing. Clive had been shot while trying to rescue some hostages, and Emmy had been acting like a wild animal so she had been shot as well. Clive had caught an infection and couldn't drink without vomiting, so he was attached to an IV drip. On that particular afternoon, he decided to venture around the medical wing. He'd been out before, to buy sweets, go to the toilets, talk to Emmy or visit a nurse. He knew his ward like the back of his hand but when he ventured out, the landscape seemed alien even though he'd been there before. He ventured around before returning to his room, where he sat for several seconds before Luke visited.<p>

"What? They catch you too?" Clive asked, buzzing for a painkiller because his shoulder, where he'd been shot, was acting up.

"No, I surrendered," Luke replied. "So why are you in here? I've already seen Emmy." Clive pushed the neck of his shirt sideways to reveal the bandaged shoulder. The wound was dripping blood again, as the bandage was getting bloody again. Clive reached up and buzzed for a painkiller again. Luke winced at the shoulder wound.

"What is the problem with getting a painkiller? There's nobody else who needs one in this damn ward apart from maybe Emmy," Clive grunted. "Seriously, this ward is so small and nobody is in constant pain. Besides, there are tons of nurses."

"Sorry. Should I go get one?" Luke asked. Clive shook his head and relaxed on the bed, because he may as well relax while his shoulder was aching.

"I'll be fine," Clive replied. "We just have to wait for this wound to heal. Where are you and the others staying? And how's Flora?"

"Well, Flora and the other hostages are making a boat to leave in. In terms of residency here, I'm locked up in a cell having tests on me most of the time but the Professor and Lore are in better rooms. Like hotel rooms," Luke explained. Clive nodded and glanced out of his room window. There were plenty of nurses at the station, so he reached up and buzzed again. The nurses didn't seem to notice. Clive sighed and retracted his hand.

"Want to go for a cup of tea?" Clive asked. "I need to get some fresh air. Hopefully by the time I get back, those nurses will have noticed I've been buzzing." Luke nodded and followed Clive through the medical wing and into the cafeteria. He ordered a cup of tea while Clive settled for coffee. There was nothing wrong with tea, but Clive could use a bit of energy. Sitting with a sore shoulder wasn't going to get him anywhere.

"I heard Emmy was like an animal. What do they mean?" Luke asked. Clive snorted.

"Christ, they're right. She was biting and scratching them in a way that was more animal than human," Clive replied. "They had to shoot her. She sent several troops into intensive care."

"Emmy can do that?" Luke asked, rather startled. Clive laughed.

"We are all animals, Luke. We are all capable of superhuman strength," he replied and drank his coffee.


	7. La Fin, Lore

Clive rolled up his sleeve and inhaled sharply as the needle pierced his flesh. The nurse injected some liquid into his body then pulled out the needle, dabbing at the wound with a cotton ball. After the bleeding stopped, she put down her equipment and Clive swung his legs over the edge of the table and jumped to his feet.

"Thanks, Sylvia," he said to the nurse and walked down the halls of the medical wing. It had been three weeks since he had been discharged but he was taken every morning for an injection, though he was never told why. All the other captured hostages had to go for an injection, as well, though they knew no more than Clive.

Clive returned to his room, the one he shared with Layton and Luke, but both were out somewhere. Of course they were; now they had the entire building to explore, there was no reason to sit idly. Clive was not keen on exploring the building himself, but he had to if he was going to formulate an escape plan. Today he was heading east instead of west, to the laboratories.

As he walked in the shadows, careful to avoid the guards (who would insult him every time they saw him), he accidentally rammed into an irritated female scientist. She hurtled obscenities at him while Clive tried to apologize, then she took it too far. She kicked him, square in the chest. Clive staggered backwards then raced forwards, throwing a punch that hit its target better than expected - he hit the woman in the center of her chest, sending her staggering backwards too.

Clive managed to snake in a kick and the woman fell sideways, then she pulled out a knife. Clive's heartbeat fastened - it was fight or flight, and remarkably, he chose fight. Clive dived forwards, his right hand grabbing the woman's wrist. He tried to twist it but when the knife cut into his skin he growled and let go, skipping backwards. He was about to make a run for it when someone else dived into the fray - Emmy.

Within seconds the scientist had been disarmed and was left unconscious in a corner. Clive stared at Emmy as she approached him.

"Well, she's not going to stab you now," Emmy said. Clive pointed a shaking finger at the guard behind Emmy. Emmy spun round and tried to punch the guard across the face, but she was too slow. The guard grabbed her hand and handcuffed her on the spot. He glared at Clive.

"Wait here, boy," the guard growled and walked off with Emmy. The guard should've known better - Clive raced off, keeping behind the guard but when the guard went left at a crossroads, Clive went right. He checked the row of room numbers and knocked on one. Lore opened the door and Clive quickly told her about the situation. He knew Lore had been stashing guns in her room for some time, and Clive accepted the rifle that was shoved into his hands.

"Layton's gone out," Clive said as Lore walked out into the hallway bearing her impressive collection of firearms. "I think he's off to look around the building. At any rate, I'll save Emmy." Lore nodded and ran off down one corridor while Clive ran after the guard. It had always been the plan: if something went wrong, get the guns and escape. Clive raced after the guard and shot him, then he grabbed Emmy. "Emmy, you remember the plan?" He asked as he led her back through the halls. He had to find an exit in the seemingly endless maze, and an alarm was blaring. The guard must've set it off in his final moments.

"Yes, I remember the plan," Emmy replied. "Got any guns for me?" Clive fished in his pocket and handed Emmy a handgun. She released the safety catch and followed Clive, sometimes pointing him in a certain direction based on signs she was reading. "Something is bugging me, though."

"What is it?"

"Well, Lore brought us back here. But she hasn't shown any indication of fulfilling what she set out here to do." Emmy shot down an approaching guard and wished fervently for a silencer. She spotted Lore and grabbed Clive, pulling him in the right direction. Lore was with Layton and Luke and they were all armed appropriately.

"I need to talk with you guys," Lore said, leading them into an old storage room that was no longer in use. She climbed up a pile of junk and sat on top of it. Clive bravely scaled a different pile of junk and made himself at home, followed by Emmy. Layton did not believe a gentleman climbed piles of junk. "I dragged you all here so I could get my boyfriend and my sister. And, I see that it was wrong. I'm very sorry, and if I can do anything to make up to yo-"

The door was flung open and Lore gunned down the guards in an instant. She cursed and ran out, the party following her. She found a window and opened it, breaking the windowpane. She squirmed out and was followed by the rest of her party, then Lore looked at them sadly.

"The building is set to self-destruct. I-I pressed a button. I want to go back and get them," Lore said, her voice wavering. She knew the problem - she wouldn't make it in time.

"Professor Birchwood," Layton said. "You'll die if you go in there. I'm afraid to say it, but we cannot do anything."

"I'm sorry, Layton. You've been a wonderful companion to me, but now I have to go," Lore said with a shaking smile. She squirmed back through the window and popped through on the other side. "Goodbye, Hershel, Clive, Emmy, Luke." Clive stared in horror at the window.

Luke dived forwards and grabbed the windowsill. "Professor Birchwood!" He could hear an automated voice counting down from ten and he knew he had to run. The party, now down a person, raced through the woods, still running as the entire complex exploded. Layton could hardly handle it; hundreds of people, dead in an instant, including the Professor of Geography he had worked so many times with. He almost tripped over his own feet while running down the hill. They stopped running after the explosion, because there was no point. There was a solemn silence as they walked.

"Oh Professor Laytoooooon!" a familiar voice called. The whole party spun round in an instant, to see Lore and someone who looked rather like her carrying a burnt man down the hill. "I made it!" Layton stared at Lore as she joined him. "This is my boyfriend. He's in a bit of a bad way at the moment. We need to get him to a hospital, but he'll be alright." Lore looked at the confused stares and smiled. "What? You want to know how I escaped? It's a secret."

Layton sighed with relief and the party discovered Flora standing proudly alone by a boat. "We did it, Professor! We built the boat and got the hostages back!" Layton congratulated Flora, and the party shovelled themselves into the boat and stayed moderately silent for the duration of the journey back to London, with a few conversations from Lore and the regular grunting of the people who were controlling the boat. Eventually, they arrived at the harbor, Emmy got her motorcycle back, and everyone was happy. Well, apart from the homeless Clive. Emmy once again offered Clive her house and he, once again, gratefully accepted.

The two sat at Emmy's dining room table, Clive drinking coffee while Emmy sipped hot chocolate. "You were brave," Emmy said, almost blankly.

"Was I?" Clive asked sleepily. Even with the caffeine in his system, he was incredibly tired from the day's adventure. "Ugh, I'm too tired for this. I'm going to bed." Clive set off for bed, until Emmy stopped him.

"Wait!" she called. Clive stopped and turned around as Emmy walked over. She gently kissed Clive and smiled at him. "Good night, Clive." Clive smiled wearily back at her.

"Good night, Emmy." 


End file.
